Creature from the North Shore
by Dreamwind1
Summary: A retelling of The Creature from The Black Lagoon, Hawaii Five-0 style.
1. Prologue

**Creature from the North Shore**

 **Author:** Dreamwind

 **Fandom:** Hawaii Five-0 (2010), Creature from the Black Lagoon

 **Rating:** Teen/Mature

 **Pairing:** Steve McGarrett/Danny "Danno" Williams

 **Additional Pairing:** Meka Hanamoa/Amy Hanamoa, Kono Kalakaua/Ben Bass, Kono Kalakaua/Charlie Fong

 **Characters:** Danny "Danno" Williams, Steve McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Meka Hanamoa, Amy Hanamoa, Charlie Fong, Ben Bass, Mamo Kahiki

 **Warnings:** Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Curses, Alternate Universe - Gillman, Crossover Fusion, Angst, Monsters, Romace, Love Triangle, Romance, Drama, Canon Divergence, UST, URT

 **Disclaimer:** Hawaii Five-0 is owned by Leonard Freeman & CBS. This is a work of fiction not authorized, or in conjunction with, the official Hawaii Five-0 series, from either the 1960s or the 2010s. I make no money from this work of fiction.

 **Summary:** A retelling of The Creature from The Black Lagoon, Hawaii Five-0 style.

* * *

 **Prologue**

* * *

 **2008; Somewhere deep in the Amazon**

Steve had been around the world, to countries most Americans didn't know existed, more times that he could count. As a Navy SEAL he often saw the worst of mankind, but he never gave up hope that he would find better somewhere, or that what he was doing was the right thing to do. He knew in his gut that no matter how many lives he took to complete his mission it was the right thing to do. He was stopping bad people from making the world into a worse piss pot than it was. Not that he thought the whole world was a piss pot. No, he knew there were places out there that weren't perfect, but were far better places to be than most of the countries he had spent the last several years in. In fact, at the end of this mission he would be allowed to take a two week leave to head back home, to one of the few places he had been that didn't feel as if it had been tainted by corruption, greed, and all the worst of man kinds sins. All he had to do to get back to paradise was to make it through the jungle, capture his target, and make it back to the pick up point.

It should be a piece of cake.

Well, about as much of a piece of cake as any SEAL mission was.

Steve slowly brushed aside an oversize leaf, carefully taking note of the guards below as they moved out of sight. Never taking his eyes off where they had gone, or where the next team should be coming from, Steve signaled his men to advance. They had barely three minutes before the next team of guards walked by and they needed to get over the security fencing and into the compound before then, without setting off any hidden security traps. Not an easy manner for seven large men to do silently. But Steve trusted his team to get in without notice. They were the best after all.

They moved through the underbrush with great care, hardly a sound made, or track left to prove they had even been there. They were trained to be ghosts.

Getting past the first set of guards proved to be fairly easy. Jorgeson and Cavana were able to get the guards in sleeper holds and slip a blade between their ribs. None of the guards made a sound as their lives slipped away and their bodies were dragged into blind spots. The next set of guards went down as smoothly as the first, and Steve began to feel confident that they were going to be able to take down the supposed _bruja_ in charge of the cartel, without any loss of life on his teams part.

It was that confidence that should have told him things were about to go FUBAR.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

* * *

 **2010;** **Upper Reaches of the Amazon**

Mamo followed excitedly behind two of the locals who had agreed to help him on his dig. They didn't do much, but their help locating supplies, pointing out dangerous local flora, and carting away the rubble from where Ben and he had been digging, was of great help. And now they were dragging him barely a hundred yards from camp, towards the river leading into the lagoon because they had found something. He didn't know what it was but it seemed to have caused them a odd mixture of fear and excitement. The emotion of fear, he guessed, was strongest, since it had caused them to come get him whereas most locals would have absconded with whatever they found.

Pushing past the final clinging foliage, Mamo nearly crashed into the back of his guides. They had come to a stop almost as soon as they broke the forest line. Pushing gently past them, he took in the site of the gently lapping water to his right and the harsh jut of stone and earth in front of him.

He gasped loudly, startling the two men into jumping back into the tree line.

Whispering a brief prayer in his native Hawaiian tongue, Mamo slowly stepped towards the cliff-face. There, where the earth had given way, was a grotesque, almost mummified looking hand. Though he was not sure he could actually call it a hand, for the strange mummified remains reaching out of earth, held no great resemblance to his own. It appeared to have four fingers and a thumb, all of which appeared to be tipped with vicious looking claws. And as he stepped closer still he could make out a delicate bit of webbing that appeared to have once linked all the digits together. His hands reached blindly towards his side where his camera was still stuffed inside an oversized pocket. He fumbled, is gazes never leaving the horrible remains reaching out of the earth towards him. Soon enough his fingers had slipped inside the pocket brushing the heavy plastic edge of his camera.

"What is it, Dr. Mamo?"

"I don't know, Ruiz," Mamo replied as he carefully turned the camera on.

"Is it important?"

"I believe so." Mayo lifted the camera up, snapping pictures of the mummified claw. "Greatly important, indeed."

Even through the lens of his camera the hand struck him, sending chills down his spine. The sharp clarity of the lens brought out more definition, more life into the desiccated remains. Snapping off a few last shots, his hands shaking only slightly, Mamo turned back to the men. "Return to camp and get Ben. We will need to be careful digging this out. It looks very fragile."

"Of course, Dr. Mamo," the man replied before turning and vanishing into the underbrush along with his fellows.

Mamo grinned and tuned back to the hand and the arm it was attached to. It was not a fossil, that was most apparent. But he could not imagine how something of flesh and blood, trapped in dirt and rock could be mummified. "You my dear, are a mystery."

Mamo carefully put his small digital camera back into his pocket. He took another moment to simply look it over from a distance before moving closer. As he got closer he was struct by the size of the hand, even shrunken in from the process of mummification. He took a moment to look at one side , then moved carefully around to the other side, his steely brown gaze never leaving the fearsome discovery. If he had to guess whatever the creature was that this hand had been attached to, it was large. Larger than the average man for certain. Unclipping the small pick from his belt he carefully began to chip away at the loose rock and dirt around the site, storing a little bit of it in a plastic bag for later study.

"Shouldn't you be waiting for some assistance with that, Mamo."

Mamo smiled but did not turn around to face his grad student. Ben was about the only other person out here in this part of the jungle besides their two guides. And unlike the guides, Ben was hardly silent as he moved through the jungle. In fact, as Mamo often teased him, he sounded more like a whole herd of elephants.

"I have been pulling fossilized sea creatures from the rocks since you were no more than a twinkle in your parents eyes. I think it shall be fine enough in my tender care."

Ben snorted, but moved closer with a smile tugging the corners of his mouth up. Mama smiled, his eyes twinkling as he he watched the young man approach the find, the open amazement on his face delighting Mamo. So few of his students seems to really invest themselves in the courses anymore, but Ben was always at the edge of his seat waiting to learn something new about the ocean that he loved so much.

Ben's gaze lingered on the claws peeking out from the tips of the mummified flesh that had started to pull away from the finger tips. His gaze narrowed suspiciously on it as Mamo carefully pried it loose. Even under the suspicion there was a child like wonder that he was trying so hard to hide. He knew how much Mamo delighted in his open curiosity, but he was a grad student now and he wanted to impress the man with his professionalism. Even if half his instincts were telling him to grab Mamo and run, and the other was begging him to reach out grab the hand. Part of him believed it had to be a hoax, but another desperately wanted it to be real. Something new! Something that no one else had ever discovered before.

"Ruiz, I need to go to the Instituto de Biologia Maritima. You two need to wait here in the camp with Ben," Mamo stated as he looked over the bit of flesh and bone. It appeared to go only as high up the arm as the elbow, the bone neatly cleaved through by something very sharp from the looks of it.

"Will you be gone long," asked Ben.

"Just long enough to find out what this is."

"If they knew what it was I think all of us would know." Ben plucked the arm out of Mamo's grasp. He turned it over carefully, fingers tracing the ridges and scales. "This has amphibious like features mixed with fish scales for skin, and a human like shape to the bone structure. This is ground breaking, Mamo. You know they will take the find away form you if it isn't some kind of hoax to begin with."

"Then I will find out if it is a hoax. But I need you to stay here and dig out the rest of the skeleton, if there is one."

"Fine. But one of us will be here at al times," stated Ben in a voice that strongly implied there would be no argument.

Mamo gave a hearty chuckle and turned back towards camp. He had to pack for his trip up river.

= = = H50 = = =

 **Two Days Later**

"What are you doing here in Brazil, Meka," inquired Mamo.

"Amy's looking for lung fish." Meka turned to smile warmly at his wife, who was toweling off only a few feet away. "Don't ask me why she decided to come out here when we live on an island surrounded by tropical fish and other sea life. I still can't figure that out."

"How is your son?"

"Not bad. We left him back in Honolulu with Amy's sister." Meka smiled as Amy walked over, placing a soft kiss on his cheek before leaning in to hug Mamo. "What brought you out here?"

"This," Mamo said, handing a photo of the hand over to Meka and Amy. "I brought a specimen we found near our camp in to examine more closely. Ben is worried it is the locals are playing a prank on us, but just look at it!"

Amy examined the photo, her brow furrowing. "It certainly is unusual. Amphibian features but a bone structure more suitable for land based mammals."

"Well, it certainly is exciting," Meka said with a small eye roll at the looks of obvious enthusiasm on Mamo's and his wife's faces.

"I am hoping to put together an expedition to look into it."

Amy grinned. "And you want us to join you?"

"That was the hope my dear. Of course I'd like to pick up another few trustworthy people to help out and to work as guards."

Meka hmmm'd thoughtfully. "I might know a couple people. Though one of 'em can come across as a bit of a grump."

"Do you," Mamo asked pleased. "It would of great help. I don't want to remain away from the dig site too long."

"I've got two guys in mind that could work as guards for you. Both are former cops so they'll be a great help."

"Excellent!" Mamo clapped his hands together, beaming at his fellow Hawaiians. "I will make a call and see if I can get Charlie Fong and Kono here by tomorrow. Between them, Amy, Ben, and myself, we should be able to complete the dig in proper order."

Meka smiled at the trust Mamo put in him by not even asking for the names of the men Meka was going to call to come protect them and the find. Mama was a generally good guy and he had been run over and stollen from by other scientists before, and after three decades he had finally begun to let his blind trust go. He was finally taking steps to protect himself and his finds so that others couldn't steal his hard work. So knowing that Mamo still felt willing to trust Amy and him with his find, with the protection of his staff and himself…that made a warm bloom deep in Meka's chest.

Stepping away form the other two as they began to speak in earnest about what had been found already, Meka looked for a quite place to use his phone. Chin Ho Kelly he knew would be more than willing to come help out if only to get away from the scorn of his former HPD brothers in blue. It was a small island and there wasn't a corner of it that hadn't heard the rumors of Chin stealing money from the Assets Forfeiture Locker at HPD. Not that Chin believed the man could have done it. Well, he could have. Chin was a damn good cop able to get in places most cops couldn't. But he also had the moral compass of a boy scout and would never have done what they claimed he had.

Sure enough as soon as Meka let him know about the job offer, however temporary, Chin was willing to catch a flight to South America as long as the expedition would be willing to help with his costs. Something Meka didn't think Mamo would have a problem with if the find turned out to be real.

His second call was both easier and harder. Meka and Amy had met former detective Danny Williams, late of New Jersey, on the connecting flight that brought them here. Danny had spent most of the flight loudly complaining about his ex-wife who stole his daughter away from him to move from place to place with her new rich husband. As frustrating as all the complaining had been, Meka had quickly realized what a stand up guy Danny was. He was willing to sell his house in a horrible market, quit his job without the possibility that he might find another, just so he could chase his ex-wife all over the western hemisphere for the off chance she would give him a single afternoon during the week, and every other weekend with his daughter. Amy had been furious on Danny's behalf by the time they had landed and both Danny and Meka had had to hold her back from storming the house that Rachel and her new husband Stan were renting while he brokered some new land deal for a resort hotel. Meka couldn't really blame her. If what Danny had told them was true, he had been taken to the cleaners by his wife and brought to the point where he had been contemplating eating his gun because he couldn't take the thought of not seeing his little monkey every day.

Meka had to admit that he was glad Danny hadn't taken the easy way out. Since they had been in Brazil, Danny had been a godsend. The tiny little town, generously called a city, had few people who spoke English so having someone to talk to was certainly a welcome relief. Plus since they agreed to let Danny stay with them in the small house they rented, he had the added comfort of knowing that there was a second person to help protect his wife. Danny of course, wasn't there right now, since it was his weekend with Grace, and he would be on the road back from Rachel and Stan's place with her. Still, he called knowing that Danny wouldn't pick up while driving the POS rental car he had since Grace was with him, and left a voicemail.

= = = H50 = = =

Danny sighed as he pulled the car into the driveway of the little house, really more of a cabin, that he was sharing with Meka Hanamoa and his wife, Amy. Grace was yawning tiredly in the seat next to him, exhausted from the long drive from Manaus where she had been with Rachel and step-Stan. He wasn't willing to let her just run into the house from here, even if there was a security gate around the property. God only knew if there were jaguars about, or thugs from the cartels just waiting to snag some little girl like Grace for horrible things Danny wished he didn't know were real. So he made her wait in her seat as he turned off the engine, unbuckled his seat belt, and got out of the car. He walked briskly around the front making sure she could always see him and that he could always see her. So far all was fine. He looked about one more time, peering into the depths of the jungle near the house. Nothing disturbed the peaceful quite around them other than the normal bird song.

Nodding to himself, he quickly open her door, ushering her out of the car and into the house. Thankfully it was summer and Rachel and Stan were going to be busy for the next week, so they had, reluctantly, let Danny have Grace for the full week, plus the following weekend. Meka and Amy had been graceful about the whole thing despite how cramped the little house already was with the three of them living in a place barely big enough for two. He didn't know how he could ever repay them for the kindness they had shown him, but he was determined to figure out a way to do so.

"Danno," Grace asked quietly as she placed her small hand into his.

"Yeah, Monkey?"

"Will I get to meet your friends?"

Danny smiled and in a rush of movement he had turned, taken Grace in both hand and lifted her up into the air, spinning her around in a circle until she began to laugh long and loud. After a minute or so he began to slow, and gently lowered her back to the ground. She sway in place, for a moment looking like she would tip over. His hands never left hers, keeping her upright and steady as he lead her inside.

"Yeah, monkey. You'll get to meet them today."

"Okay." She looked about the small 'open planed' room that consisted of the sitting room, dinning room, and kitchen all crowded into the one rectangular space. There were two bedrooms and a small bath just down the hall, and that was about it. It wasn't nearly as large or as shinny as the place her Mom and step-Stan lived in, but then she didn't much like that place. She liked the close feeling of the small house, how the old, much loved furniture beckoned her to curl up in it while her Danno read to her from their book. She like all the knick-knacks on the shelves on the walls and above the fireplace. It felt like Grandpa's cabin out by the pine barrens.

"Can we go see the monkeys? Can we go swimming," she asked excitedly as he led her to the second bedroom where they would be staying.

"Maybe." He winked at her and set her bag on the ground next to the full bed. The wooden frame was old and scratched all over, but it was built of solid hardwood and looked like it could take an hippo doing the electric slide on it. "I hope you don't mind sharing the bed with your old man for a few days, Monkey. We don't have an extra bed here."

"That's okay, Danno." She squeezed his hand and smiled up at him, melting his heart like she always did.

"Alright, you get Squirt all settled on the bed while I check my phone."

Grace nodded a serious look taking over her features as she unzipped her bag and pulled out her stuffed sea turtle. The placement of Squirt on the bed was always a very import ritual when she came to stay with her Danno. He had bought the little turtle for her the weekend before her Mom and step-Stan had taken her away from him. She listened to his steps making a steady thunk-thunk on the wood floor as he moved out of the room and a few steps down the hall. For a short while there was no sounds filtering through to her and a small part of her began to worry that he might have vanished like he sometimes did in her nightmares. But a moment later she could hear the reassuring sound of his voice as he spoke to someone over his phone. She let out a long breath, her shoulders relaxing.

"A job," Danny said in surprise. "You found me a job?"

Danny paced up and down the short hall, glancing in at Grace every time he passed the open doorway. "Doing what?"

Danny's eyebrows rose in surprise. "A security guard? For what?"

Grace settled on the bed next to her turtle and watched him with open curiosity. He smiled at her hoping she wasn't worried that he would leave again. He knew she had nightmares about the divorce and he didn't like how badly the whole thing had hurt her. She was a strong girl and he knew she could survive it, but he didn't like it. He never liked it when his little girl was scared or hurt.

"An expedition into the Amazon? When-" Danny cut off, hie brow furrowing, free hand beginning to slash through the air as the rant built up inside him. "Meka! I can't just up and leave for the jungle! I've got Grace for the next nine days!"

Danny scoffed. Loudly. "I'm not taking my little monkey into the jungle with all this bugs and jaguars! Who knows what other monsters are lurking out there!…Hey! Hey, that is not-" Danny growled throwing his hands in the air dramatically. "Fine! But I'm packing up Grace and leaving if I think it's too dangerous!"

Scowling he hung up. He stood there for several minutes just glaring at his cell phone.

"Are we going into the Amazon," Grace shouted excitedly.

Danny sighed and dropped his head into his hands.

= = = H50 = = =

 **The Next Day**

Grace had hardly slept the night before, so excited to meet Amy and Meka, and even more excited about getting to sail up the Amazon with them! Grace had hit it off with the two Hawaiians right away much to Danny's delight. He had been worried that they wouldn't get along, but Grace's love of the sea seemed to collide with Amy's into something fearsome. For a moment he was sure the space behind the two had turn into a pink, glitter-filled haze. But that had to have been his imagination catching up with his lack of sleep. Meka had stifled a chuckle behind one hand as he and Danny watched the two spend nearly the whole rest of the evening talking about dolphins and fish. Danny was now fairly certain that Grace was going to follow in Amy's footsteps one day. Not that that was a bad thing. He certainly liked it better than when she said she wanted to be a cop like him so she could help protect people. Studying fish had to be less dangerous than catching drug dealers, mobsters, and murderers.

Eventually Grace had fallen asleep, her little body just not able to keep awake despite how badly she wanted to. Danny had said his goodnights then as well, and had walked into his room, picked out his pajama pants, and then gone to the bathroom to finish his nightly routine. When he came out Amy and Meka had still been in the living room going over the plans for the morning. He had shaken his head and told them to get some rest, even knowing that wasn't likely to happen, then joined Grace in bed.

The morning had ended up getting there too soon for him. With Grace plastered to his side and the lack of air conditioning in the little house, he had spent the night mostly awake from the discomfort of the heat. As tired as he was, it was nice to be able to safely get out of the bed and take a long cool shower before he had to wake Grace. He even managed to get some eggs scrambled, toast made up, and a pot of coffee brewed before Amy and Meka came out of the room.

"Morning," Danny commented, his gaze looking up at them briefly as he went about filling three large thermoses full of coffee.

"Morning, Danny." Amy smiled and sat down at the round table shoved into one corner of the dinning space. "Grace still sleeping?"

"Yeah. I figured I would give her a few more minutes before making her get dressed for the day."

Meka smiled stealing some of the coffee for his battered mug. "We can finish making the eggs and toast if you want to get her?"

"Thanks." Danny finished filling sealing the last thermos then head out to get Grace.

Amy and Meka worked together with ease to dish up four plates with scrambled eggs and toast. It wasn't a big breakfast but it would be enough for now. They would have a chance to eat on the boat, and if they got there early enough they might even be able to stop in at the local restaurant to get some boxed lunches, or maybe some extra fresh fruit from one of the market stalls.

Grace was still a bit sleepy eyed when Danny led her into the kitchen ten minutes later. She barely seemed to open her eyes as she shoveled food into her mouth. When they hustled her out the house and into the jeep that didn't change much. In fact, the moment she was buckled in she fast asleep.

"So," Danny said as the view of the house vanished behind them as they got further and further down the road. "You need me to play body guard for some scientist? You do realize I have no experience protecting anyone from things in the wild, let alone in the Amazon Rainforest?"

"Yeah, but we aren't expecting trouble. The natives seem to avoid the area near the excavation for one reason or another according to Mamo," replied Amy.

"And that isn't raising red flags for you?"

Amy smiled and looked back over her should to where the surly New Jersey native was seated. "Not really. There are places like that all over the region. A lot of time it's just because of local superstition and not anything that's a real danger."

Danny scowled. "It could be jaguars."

"It could, but Mamo and his team haven't seen any signs of jaguars in the area."

"What about crocs? There are big ass crocs in the rivers, right?"

"In some areas yeah. And we will certainly be checking out all the water around the camps before anyone gets in."

"What about piranhas?"

"Danny," Meka interrupted. "You need to chill, brah. Between you, me, and Chin we'll all be fine. Chin and I both have experience with dangerous aquatic wildlife."

Danny's scowl deepened, but he didn't say anything further. Meka was a good guy and Danny had come to realize how reliable and knowledgeable he was over the last few weeks. Danny was fairly certain he would have been food for some strange animal by now if it wasn't for the other cop. So he decided not to push his luck by arguing further. He knew he should feel grateful because without them he wouldn't have a place to stay and he wouldn't have a steady job while he was down here. So he kept his trap shut and starred out the window as they made their way down the bumpy dirt road towards the dock where they were meeting this Mamo guy and his team. Supposedly Meka's friend Chin would meet them there as well and they should be able to get on the boat and head out for the site ASAP.

Sure enough, Danny was right. When they got there Mamo and another young man were arguing with a local. As they unloaded their jeep, setting all their luggage and equipment next to the rest of Mamo's, the argument grew loud enough that they were able to make out that the boat captain was unwilling to take his boat to the branch river where the dig site was. From what little Danny could make out there was some worry about a _bruja,_ whatever that was, and a demon. As the argument stretched into fifteen minutes Danny signaled to Amy to watch Grace while Meka and he made their way into the nearby market to find something they could all eat while the rest of the group worked something out with the boat captain.

The market was surprisingly large for such a small village, but Danny suspected that people from other nearby villages all came here to buy and sell as well. The amount and variety of fish for sale boggled the mind. Fortunately Meka steered him out of the fish mongers section and they quickly found themselves weaving through stalls full of fruits and vegetables, butchered and cooking meat, and even local craftsmen and women. Eventually they settle for buying several bags of guarana, açai, papaya, and coqui fruits. Two large bags of brazil nuts, and several "boxed lunches" made of roasted lamb, chicken, fresh loaves of bread, and roast sweet potato. Danny even managed to haggle for a rather good looking wood carving of a river dolphin that he thought Grace would love. Though how he would hide it from her until her birthday, he wasn't sure.

They made their way back towards the others in time to see Mamo being comforted by Grace while a Amy, a Hawaiian woman, and the one of the other males had moved to begging and cajoling the captain for the boat.

"What's going on," asked Meka.

Mamo looked up, his warm brown eyes looking defeated. "The captain has at least agreed to let us us the boat, but he is unwilling to captain it himself, or to allow any of his crew to go with us."

"But we got the boat," commented Danny. "One of us can still pilot it."

"I'm afraid I don't know how to pilot the boat and neither do Kono, Charlie, or the others."

Danny looked at them surprised before letting out a long, drawn out sigh. "I can pilot the damn boat if the rest of you can at least take orders."


End file.
